Perception: Reality or Relative?

A friend and client called me yesterday about a problem he was having and wanted my perspective. 

In his telling of the problem, he called it a challenge, he mentioned how unhappy he was with his and another person’s attitude during a sales conversation.

I asked him what he was comparing that emotion of happiness to, to which there was a long pause.
I’ll call him John. John, after the pause, replied “I’m really asking for help here and I don’t appreciate you turning this back on me by getting philosophical.” To which I replied, “John, I’m asking this question so I can understand what’s causing your unhappiness because, right now, I don’t get it and if I don’t get it I can’t give you any advice.”

Our discussion continued for another 20 minutes or so discussing what he was comparing his unhappiness to and in the end, he had a different perception of the matter…his unhappiness.

Perception.

I used to believe “perception is reality.” But it’s not; perception is relative.

Your perception is relative to what you’re comparing it to.
 
I asked Cathy one time if she’d consider going to Russia on a missions trip and she emphatically said NO.

The conversation then went something link this….

“But what if you did?”

“I don’t.”

But what if you did?”

I don’t.”

We continued on through that for a few more minutes but I didn’t get anywhere with her. She’d been through this before and she knew that if she started thinking about what it would be like “if she did,” then her feelings could change!

Perception - is – RELATIVE.

What are you not wanting to do?

What if you did want to do it? How would that feel? What would you do?

How would it feel to do it?

To that end...

Change. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

He who rejects change is the architect 

of decay. The only human institution which 

rejects progress is the cemetery.  ~ Harold Wilson

I don't care who you are, change is hard.

It doesn't matter if you're trying to change, or having to changing. It's hard.

Whether you need to change, trying to change or having to change. It's hard.

If you say it's not, I'll say, as my brother Randy is fond of saying "you lie to your friends and I'll lie to mine, but let's not lie to each other."

Embrace the fact that change is hard and you'll be better prepared to handle the tasks it will take to change.

Because it's hard.

To that end....start and finish 2015 STRONG.

And it'll be hard.

But that's ok. It's supposed to be.